In 1994, "plunderphonics" pioneer John Oswald released "Grayfolded," a nearly two-hour composition made from more than 100 recordings of the Grateful Dead's live performances of their song "Dark Star" from between 1968 and 1993. Next month, Important Records is reissuing Grayfolded on a triple gatefold vinyl with new liner notes containing interviews with the Dead and a map of all the recording's source material. Above, a trailer for the release.
Here's what Oswald said about Grayfolded in 1995:
Phil Lesh called me up and talked me into doing it. At that point, I hadn't listened to any Grateful Dead music in about twenty years. I did think I was qualified, because I do think it's often a good idea to come into a project without a lot of prior knowledge and get kind of an alien's overview of what the music seems to be, and then put in your own two cents of what you think it should be. And I think that was the case for this. During the course of working on it, I went to a couple of Grateful Dead concerts, but other than that, I haven't listened to anything except these hundred versions of 'Dark Star' that I found in the vaults.
Below, a selection of the music.
